the latest news in the week's top stories u.s. officials continue to deny a mass hunger strike. but more than one hundred detainees have reportedly been starving themselves for forty days. new york. city's police department. of the n.y.p.d. officers gunned down a sixteen year old boy in a brooklyn neighborhood. two years since the bloody conflict began some european states it cheap to put weapons directly into the hands of. islamist extremists. and a handover of power in china is complete with the new leaders aiming to keep the economy and military investments growing that's as the u.s. continues to build its presence in the region our top story.

with a look back at the week's top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly here on a hunger strike at guantanamo bay is continuing after forty days with more than one hundred detainees reportedly starving themselves in protest at the desecration of the qur'an by prison guards lawyers for the captives claim the state of health is close to life threatening but the u.s. military strongly denied the crisis saying only fourteen detainees are refusing all food. reports. u.s. president barack obama began his first term announcing his intention to close the guantanamo bay detention center now just two months into his second term the prison enters its twelfth year of operation with one hundred sixty six detainees still languishing behind bars and

a reported one hundred thirty life threatening hunger strike and their hunger strikes are the only way they have of even making themselves heard years and years without any hope a release without any real charges this story has been denied by washington and essentially ignored by mainstream media outlets lawyers for the get more prisoners say the men began the hunger strike on february sixth to protest against the alleged confiscation of personal items such as photographs and mail and the sacrilegious handling of their qur'an during cell searches the center for constitutional rights says they've received reports of detainees coughing up blood losing consciousness dropping more than twenty pounds and being hospitalized by day forty five medical experts say hunger strike participants can experience hearing loss and potential blindness and that's in addition to the psychological suffering

they've endured for more than a decade that context where we have individuals incarcerated isolated from each other and they don't know if they're going to get out tomorrow or never in that sense of the circumstance for extreme psychological stress it's really an abominable you know humanitarian situation where you're depriving these people of life liberty and for no really valid basis the director of public affairs for joint task force guantanamo captain robert duran released a statement to our teeth in it he denies all claims of a mass hunger strike or any mishandling of the koran duran says only fourteen detainees at the detention center are refusing all food. our understanding is that based on previous standards the determination of who is a hunger striker is a discretionary determination that kuantan

a moment makes what those standards are what the criteria are are questions that they need to be at you know how are they defining hunger striker and when are they just terminating that someone needs to be tube fed and if it is if the definition of hunger striker is entirely in their control and it is a matter of their discretion then i that explains how they are able to say that there are no more than a handful of men on hunger strike lawyers representing get more prisoners have sent a letter to us defense secretary chuck hagel urging him to help and the protest in the meantime organizations like the red cross have made attempts to check on the inmates welfare here's what a representative told r.t. the current tensions in guantanamo as far as we can see and as far as we understand are really the result of the uncertainty faced by detainees in guantanamo and uncertainty linked to defeat what's going to happen to them you know there is

a lack of clear legal framework for detention many of them don't know most of them don't know what's going to open and so has been our position and there needs to be a clear legal framework and a transparent process into the procedural safeguards for those detainees and it's to be transparent and fair to alleviate the strains we need to emotional mental strain discipline certainty triggers for the detainees of the one hundred sixty sixty teenie zakk kuantan i'm obey eighty six have been cleared for release now this week the un said that the us is of violating international human rights law by indefinitely holding prisoners at guantanamo without charge the human rights council is urging washington to pull out bring an end to these illegal practices by either process. prisoners in civilian court or releasing that morning from new york . are to. london going to the campaign coordinator is among the activists seeking

to uncover what really goes all the detention center she says the mainstream media and u.s. officials have always done their best to contain scandals that there's a lot of things that go officially deny the half an hour day for example last year when four hundred ninety one of the prisoners died in any strange circumstance and it took time for the truth to actually come up he'd actually died we still don't know exactly what circumstances like in which he did die and then it was made impossible for there to be an independent autopsy because some of his organs when they returned to his family months later. had generated so much that it would be impossible to know what the actual cause of death was so there's a lot of secrecy surrounding what happens at guantanamo bay if there are requests for information they get covered up by national security issues and also there's just a lack of general interest in actually what is happening what i'm curious things that has come out over the last couple of weeks is that one of the deterioration of the prisoners complained about. is that in january there were bullets fired at the

prisoners during a protest that they had held and this happened this was corroborated by the pentagon and again it's just it's incredibly curious this has been admitted a couple of months down the line but there has hardly been any outcry in some of the more turnus oppresses there's been some coverage in the mainstream media it's managed to get a couple of comment pieces but it's not actually being considered as a news worthy item. and investigative journalist around the world into the mix but on guantanamo says barack obama has sidestepped his pledge to shut down the facility in order to please us normally because. you know these are still men who aren't held either as prisoners of war according to the geneva conventions always criminal suspects who are going to face a trial nearly all of them an england town and more are effectively still held as enemy combatants the bush administration's plan was to hold people forever without ever having to justify objectively why they were being held clearly the situation that we've had for some time there is that president obama can't really be bothered

to overcome opposition in congress can't really be involved to try and secure a decent legacy for him so by revisiting his failed promise to close the prison everyone's forgotten about. on our website of the moment we want to know your view on this issue every voice. you can tell us why you think one time was still open after more than eleven years where perhaps you think the u.s. is to blame for not keeping its promise to close the facility or maybe cuba should never have least the base to american the first place or maybe blame other countries for refusing to repatriate guantanamo detainees or indeed you may see the nine eleven terror attacks as the main reason that the prison camp is still in business where you can. have your say right now and here's how the voting is going so far at the moment as we can see the vast majority eighty percent are blaming washington for failing to keep its pledges and almost equally small numbers of you think others responsible for what's happening at guantanamo so do cast your vote if

you haven't already done so good to hear from me well coming up after the break. over the killing of a brooklyn teenager by the n.y.p.d. need to angry clashes and dozens of arrests. in the chinese reshuffle the country completes a once in a decade transfer of power while other states beefing up their presence in the pacific region all the details after this break. with. technology innovation. developments around. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so for like you think you understand it and then you glimpse

something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom hartman welcome to the big picture. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. the giant corporations are the day. the killing of a black teenager by the new york police is called public outrage and a vote weeklong protest in brooklyn activists chanted slogans accusing the n.y.p.d.

of racism and cruelty clashes between demonstrators nor enforcement officials resulted in dozens of arrests. has the story. that. sixteen year old kimani gray was killed by police shot four times in the front and three in the back the n.y.p.d. claimed the team had pointed a gun at them however this remains uncertain that there was a weapon that no one saw and not his friends his family didn't know he had a weapon and there were a lot of witnesses outside who were able to see it that this individual discharged didn't have a weapon on him as these candles burned in memory of yet another killed youth an entire community rises up night after night to demand justice and an end to police brutality for three nights in a row peaceful vigils turned chaotic clashes broke out. leaving one officer hospitalized after reportedly being injured with a brick

a total of forty six arrests were made wednesday yes. but no violence erupted thursday night tensions however still ran high. so i mean this is no different than it was. you know so it's like this is like another country a lot of people are just tired of the period with solutions to stop the violence nowhere in sight deeply seated issues between the police and the community remain unaddressed leaving many worried children parents and children this must be absolutely honest party new york. bloodshed civil strife and devastation the state of syria two years after its conflict began the war between the government and rebels has seen seventy thousand people killed and millions fleeing their homes creating a humanitarian disaster and while diplomatic efforts to bring peace of all failed many say that foreign countries are fanning the flames with plans to send more weapons or even more of a notion of reports this part of syria known as mesopotamia between the tigris and

euphrates rivers is considered a cradle of civilization has been home to many asked nic and religious groups living in peace and harmony for ages people here believe this diversity is serious strongpoint but some warn it the country and there's something to destroy. and the regime slogans in syria have been repeated to the longest of arab spring countries but assad didn't step down the weeks like the leaders of to measure and egypt nor did his regime fall within months like colonel gadhafi is in libya opposing sides have gone beyond demonstrations and clashes killings have become an everyday reality those wanted to go both at home and abroad have decided to target what hurt the most serious diversity pitting people against each other after every

massacre and every killing rivers of blood have been joined by streams of mutual accusations and hatred. the first blow was dealt to relations between the country's sunni majority and the ruling she had minority some more ignorant position and sometimes. it was never to make a city and it's not the more the once the one i don't. you should keep our unity in all of all of. it gabriel a point from commercially livin in series ne all green sunni dominated turkey and mostly shia iraq says here in about six tarion intolerance is something new for syria and very alarming. will feel this pressure for months now especially from gulf countries trying to drag us to this perilous share soon again it's a big threat because a tear society from the inside. and some say it's been few from the outside it is

part of the us strategy and some of the western strategy is to destroy syria by syrians and by arabs and this they are doing successfully another blow followed with an explosion at a palestinian refugee camps in syria and the cold blooded murder of palestinian conscripts these drove a wedge between the two arab peoples previously on friendly terms they wanted to both weaken the regime and spread despair among palestinians. with kurdish villages in syria's north east targeted the kurdish syrian peaceful coexistence has also been endangered of one o'clock its approval cations appear in very dangerous more syrian kurds want to be integrated into syrian society have rights and be respected some turkish kurds maybe do as early ones killing his own people we've never been treated like that of course when violence targets us it can't not affect relations

. and fears that those who want to see the fall of the regime will witness the country's whole instead. from syria. still ahead for you on the program clashing over the past veterans marched through the streets of the latvian capital in a controversial annual demonstration angering those who don't see them as all of freedom fighters. still to come because the overwhelming majority of folks in don and has voted yes to being british in a referendum on monday argentina which claims the u.k. has stolen the islands labeled the poll a farce but london was quick to capitalise prime minister david cameron urged but as our is to respect the landslide result international consultant and author agency but she says the u.k. strived to hold on to the full plans is all about resources. britain is trying to legitimize its presence there because one of the key factors is oil there is that

there are huge oil reserves on the ocean but they're actually part of the continental shelf which even geologically and geographically belongs to argentina so they need to have all the legal trimmings in place as much as possible regarding the actual result of that referendum it's like asking the old for right wing israeli settlers on the west bank whether they want to continue being israeli or they want to become palestinian maybe they should open up immigration and if you have twenty or thirty thousand argentinian settle there then we can have another referendum and see what happens argentina has no military prowess or credibility whatsoever so britain in a way are laughing their way as they. seek out against and exploit this oil so sixty six or sixty some odd billion barrels are just a rough estimate but the whole continental shelf which is very shallow around the four bit mugginess seems to have really huge oil reserves and on top of that it is in an area which is not a hot spot for the united states and britain as the middle east is despite calls

from the united nations london has continuously refused to negotiate over the falklands dispute with but as ours so i think the recognition of the people's will that's something the u.k. government has failed to respect and other overseas territories elsewhere sarah firth explains. this is the story of an island a proud and spirited people displaced and like government he put it devastatingly high price paradise shockingly for many it will be the first time this story's ever been heard it's everything. in memory of the happiness that we were leaving to each other in the way when been treating here. we discovered meant. to dig us is a british colony in the indian nation and the largest of the chaebol silence has

a population of roughly two thousand people about the same as the folk and. good memories. there you go it's a home a real paradise today they da gusty is one of america's biggest military advices because it's our land. it's not for them. you know when you see them you got this anger because they are enjoying the island. we are suffering back in the one nine hundred sixty s. and it is shrouded in secrecy bush cynically to learn the islands to the us but there was a problem the island had for generations been inhabited by the chikezie and people they'd built schools hospitals a whole life and what did the british government they simply pretended none of this existed by dictating the entire population from their homes secrets lies deception

dishonesty always rooted in facts in one thousand nine hundred eighty s. britain went to war protecting the folks and islanders from argentina in training first sums of money and costing precious lives the exact same time it was also using expensive resources preventing the people of the chakan silence from attending the falkland living in the homeland and they have a choice to say where they if they wanted to stay under. the rule of the british or if they wanted to go to the fork. and time rules they have a say but with the stock which i would not have the city he gave me the impression that there's not just this event the british government is the one like you every now and then used you here in the news talking about human rights justice social justice and so on but they are the one that many people in the justice that she can

see in community have been fighting for their right to return to the islands ever since they winning some of their court cases pushed. government have continually appealed blocking their progress every step of the way how differently the people have been treated there's been a government balloting or knocking on doors on their behalf or asking what they want the h word comes to my mind age four for how long are you going to punish us for how long we're going to leave this life we don't want to be here we don't want this life. we want to go back home where we belong that's our true. perhaps the most shocking thing about this story with this isn't simply something that happened decades ago this past injustices have been compounded by successive british governments right up to the coalition of today he

continued to fight against the church returning to their island and so their stories from a largely consigned to the shadows and yet you persist in people continue to bravely fight to return to their home. a cameraman working for ortiz or a big sister channel in egypt has been attacked while filming activists drawing graffiti on walls had to see footage of the incident that happened next to the headquarters of the muslim brotherhood party in the capital cairo. also online drastic measures a leading animal welfare group says it will use drones to stop illegal hunting in britain i know more about the upcoming war in the countryside at all. the separate government has suspended the debate on a bank deposit levy that has sparked. the mob for all deposit holders to hand over

up to ten percent of their savings was in force by eurozone finance ministers as a condition for a much needed ten billion euro bailout dr helen zille merely from the leading british think tank the british group told me earlier that she believes despite the delay the savers will still have to cough up they will have to try and make it go ahead because the really do desperately need the bailout money unless of course. the alternative which is actually a drop out of the euro and probably default at some point which will not necessarily be the worst thing that can happen but that doesn't seem to appeal to any of the governments in question i mean we've had this problem with greece and we've had this problem with other countries that is how it's all been going on about the about the bailouts the way things have gone we see greece is that you know these these bailouts happen. to do susteren never works and then after

a while there is another request for another bailout. whether it will actually work or whether cyprus will be erupt into riots is something we shall see in the next few days. china's new president has called for what he described as efforts to continue the realisation of the chinese dream he was giving his first comments after the nation went through a once in a decade shift of power this week economic development will be the top priority for the country's new leaders and recent forecasts look promising a report from pricewaterhouse coopers predicts that china which is now the world's second largest economy will catch up with the u.s. by twenty seventeen before overtaking it one of the top spending priorities announced by the new leadership is defense now that comes amid america's growing military expansion in china's backyard u.s. efforts to gain a stronger foothold in asia and the struggle for regional influence has been raising concerns in beijing which just days ago the pentagon another decision to

put fourteen more missile interceptors along america's west coast and deploy a radar tracking station in japan they say it's in response to a north korean nuclear threat when according to professor joseph chang at hong kong city university the future balance of power in the region will be defined by the amount of money countries spend on the military. the fact that china aims to become a major power and be you know positioned to defend its territories and its office overseas interests it will continue to spend that kind of rate of increase doubt any substantial jump in military expenditure i suspect in fact the time is of forty's probably understand that the american military spending is very much limited by the fact that. the obama administration has to cut its military budget because of the financial difficulties and now to some world news in

brief two car bomb attacks have hit the southern iraqi city of basra after ten people have been reported killed and many more injured in the explosions oil rich browser is rarely a target of violence and is considered a safer part of the volatile state iraq is fast approaching the tenth anniversary of the u.s. led invasion. french soldiers being killed in combat in northern mali five french servicemen have now lost their lives in paris led military campaign against islamist insurgents in the west african state is now into its third month french president said the campaign was fast approaching an end when joint forces took control of key cities at the beginning of february. and the streets in cities across the world are swimming in. millions celebrate st patrick's day this year in honor of the celtic saint over forty international landmarks from the pyramid to the sydney opera house will be traditional and paddy's green marches and parades

are held every year and most of the world's capitals and major cities including here in moscow. the men who fought alongside it does not see army during world war two calling themselves not when freedom fighters held an annual march in the country's capital because mayer attempted to ban the controversial demonstration but a court overturned the decision sparking tension between the fascists and latvian s.s. veterans. as this report. was born in a prison in franco's fascists he and his parents were repressed by that regime so he was hurt when he learned that veterans marched through the streets of the. all of europe fought so hard to eradicate fashion. where it was one state ideology you would now never see manifestations which glorify now it's considered shameful what happens here in riga is totally incredible and outrageous. marches by

former law. are nothing out of the ordinary since lotty became independent they've been held every year the men who once fought on the side of nazi germany are seen as freedom fighters by some here a view which divides society in this post soviet state for many years this march had been forbidden by the cities of dorothy's a court decision that overturned it and the market still took place this year the high court decided to strike first even before the mayor had to say the court said that the march must take place and force the mayor to apologize for all the yes he had been banning this march the masterminds of this march lot of years nationalists say they want the younger generation to embrace their history and recognize their heroes. you know what i'm especially proud to see so many young people today this is proof that we're living in a free country which had been under occupation for many years. but many in europe

simply cannot understand what appreciation of freedom has to do with three year olds walking alongside former nazi troops especially given that is a member of the e.u. which has no second opinion on fascism. as a member of the infamous an outside force for remembrance of the locals and it's very difficult to say it's very weak eats non-fans but on one side you are a member of such an unbroken organisation to remember what happened seventy years ago in order to avoid our children to repeat the mistakes of the easter week and on the other side those people who marched and to be the first to know because it's really quite easy changing the law to be as anti-fascist movement has been fighting these marches for a decade with no success they fear this movement is getting stronger as last year's economy gets weak and strengthening.